Writing in a personal capacity to share views, information and resources for teachers, trade unionists and campaigners in London - and beyond!

Saturday, 19 May 2012

Mullivaikal remembered - show Tamil Solidarity today

Thousands of Tamils, including some of my school students and their families, will mark the third anniversary of Mullivaikal, the end of the war in Sri Lanka, with a commemorative rally in Trafalgar Square this evening, on Saturday 19 May. I am very privileged to have again been invited to give a message of solidarity from the trade union movement.

In the intervening years, the horrific truth of the massacre of tens of thousands of Tamils - and the mass detention of hundreds more - has finally begun to be admitted by the United Nations and others who stood silent when those atrocities were taking place in 2009.

There may well be politicians who will also be speaking on the platform tonight who will promise support to the Tamil community but big business backed parties will never be a reliable support to any oppressed people. These parties are part of the same British establishment who has invited Sri Lanka's despotic president Rajapaksa to the Queen's Jubilee celebrations! (see the Tamil Solidarity site http://www.tamilsolidarity.org/ for more information on the protest against Rajapaksa's visit)The trade union movement, fighting for the united struggle of working people against poverty and oppression, is a key force that can make sure that the struggle of Tamil speaking peoples receives the support and publicity it deserves. The united May Day demonstrations across Tamil and Sinhala communities in Sri Lanka this year are an important step forward. (see http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/5742)

In particular, the trade union movement should give its backing to the demand for a independent international inquiry into all war crimes allegations, for the withdrawal of
the troops from the North and East of Sri Lanka, and for an end to the settlement programme - in reality an occupation programme - in those areas.

NUT members need to make sure that the issue of Tamil Solidarity is taken up within the Union as widely as possible, building on the example of Bury NUT who recently invited a speaker from the campaign to speak at their general meeting.

Martin Powell-Davies

* Brought up as a socialist by parents who hungered for what is right * One adopted grandfather left me a double-barrelled name, the other his name on a 1926 General Strike black-list * Joined the Labour Party as a teenager, left it when it abandoned the values and traditions of so many who built it in the past * Given a comprehensive education at St.Andrew's, Leatherhead * First-class degree from King's College, Cambridge, for those who like that kind of thing * Secondary science teacher in London 1986-2015 * Lewisham NUT Secretary 1993-2015, organiser of many campaigns to defend teachers and education * Living in Sydenham since 1997, father of four who were all so well-supported by Sedgehill School * Member of the NUT National Executive 2010-15 * NUT London Regional Secretary 2016 - * Proud to have been name-checked by Gove for saying that his 'reforms' could make teaching unbearable * Member of the CWI, following its global struggles via http://www.socialistworld.net * Candidate for TUSC in Lewisham West & Penge, 2015 * Member of Penge CC, often a 'Middle Aged Man In Lycra' on Sundays